Printing machine



Dec. 9, 1930. H. v. BALL PRINTING MACHINE Original Filed May 10. 1922 Inv entor Patented Dec. 9,1930

[ UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE HENRY V. BALL, OF CONCORD, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS,

TO B. HOE AND (20., INC., OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK PRINTING MACHINE Application filed May 10, 1922, Serial No. 559,790. Renewed May 2, 1930.

i This invention relates to printing machines and more particularly to improvements in web-feeding mechanisms employed with such machines.

i v In the web-feeding mechanisms heretofore ever the running roll has been run down to a size making it desirable to run the web from the spare roll.

The union of the two webs in the manner now practiced commercially, as well understood by those skilled in the art, is imperfect and disadvantageous in that web breakage frequently occurs. It is a further object of the present invention to provide a web-feeding arrangement of the rolls which wholly obviates this danger of web breakage.

In the broader aspects of the invention these objects may be attained by any relative arrangement of the paper rolls and web-path from the running roll which will cause the running path of the web to be in position to make the splice to the spare roll, at the proper time, without the necessity of shifting said web path. The preferred form of the invention for attaining these objects contemplates the provision of supports for a running roll and a spare roll and a web path having such a relation to each other that as the running roll reduces its diameter, due to the running of the web, the web path approaches the spare '40 roll, and finally, at the time the running roll becomes nearly exhausted and replacement is required, comes in contact therewith or sufiiciently close to effect an instantaneous union. v The relative arrangement of the supports 4 and the web path is such that during the running of the web it has a movement, in direction and extent, sufficient to bring it to a position relative to the spare roll for an instantaneous union therewith when the running roll is nearly exhausted. In one aspect of theinvention, the running web is caused to contact, at the proper time, with the spare roll thus positioning it for a union of the two webs without the necessity, as heretofore, of

a movement of the web out of its running path. The contact with the spare roll, permitting union therewith, is made with the running web still in its normal feeding path, through a bodily movement of the web path toward the spare roll. due to the decrease in size of the running roll. Those skilled in the art will understand that actual contact is not essential since the object is to obviate the use of shifting roller mechanism and like expedients.

To the accomplishment of these objects and such others as may hereinafter appear, as will readily be understood by those skilled in the art from the following description, the invention comprises the features and combinations of parts, the preferred form of which is shown in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a view, in side elevation and partly diagrammatic, of one unit of a print ing machine having the improved web-feeding mechanism applied; and

Fig. 2 is a partial view, similar to Fig. 1,

showing the running web at the time the running roll is nearly exhausted and a splice is to be made with the spare roll.

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated in the drawings, the printing machine frame is indicated at 10, with a diagrammatic representation of the usual assemblage of mking, plate and 1mpress1on cyhnders and cooperating composition rollers supported thereby, indicated generally by 12.

It is SUffiClQIlt for thepurposes of the pres- 'ent application to illustrate only one unit of a printing machine, since it will be understood that the improved web-feeding mechanism Wlll be applled to each unit 1n a like manner except for such changes 1n the location, relative to the impression cylinders, of the rollers for guiding and tensioning the web, as may be required by the construction of the frame or the arrangement of the impression cylinders thereon.

" The uide and t nsion rollers, just referred.

to, are located below the impression cylinders in the position shown in Fig. 1 for the type of press here illustrated, and are indicated by the reference characters 14 and '16. 5 Mounted on theframe in a plane below the tension roller 16 is another guide roller 18. Below the guide roller 18 isa frame or bracket 20 Secured to the frame 10 and adapt, ed to receive and support in fixed position two paper rolls from whichthe web is to be drawn successively. These two rolls are,ar-.

'to, make the splice, an arrangement of said ranged on the bracket 20 one above the other, I the lower roll 22 being the roll from which the webis to be drawn first, the upper roll 24 being, for the time being, a spare roll. The rolls'22 and 24have, respectively, the I usual spindles 26 and 28. The bracket 20 is constructed in any convenient or usual 'manner'to receive the ends of these spindles and thus support the rolls in position to have the web withdrawn by passing from the roll a) tlreguide and tension rollers 18, 16 and 14,

" i and finally about the impression cylinders, in

the manner illustrated in Fig. 1; It will be apparent that in any embodiment of the invention it is immaterial just what is the sequence of the uide rollersbetween the paper roll and; the impressioncylinders, and that in the illustrated embodiment ofthe invention the essential feature of the arrangementisthat the feeding path 30 of the running web, from the lower or runnin roll 22 to the' first guide'roller, be clear of t e -spare 11011 24 duringthe major portion of the period requiredto unwind the weblfromthe roll22'. While this may be accomplished in various ways it is conveniently accomplished by ofi-setting the point of support for the running roll 22' and mounting the first guide roller 18 above the spare roll 24 in such a lateral position relative to the spindle 26 and at the web path of said spindle, that as p the running roll 22 unwinds in a clockwise direction, viewing Fig. 1, the web feeding pa-th=30 is clear of the-spare roll 24. The lateral position of the guide roller 18 is so chosen, however, that when, or approximately when, the running roll has been so decreased in size that a union of i'ts web with 0 the web of the spare roll must be effected,

the feeding path 30 is tangent, or, substantially tangent, to the peripheral surface of the spare roll-24.

r. It will be observed, from-a comparison of i Fl s. l and 2, that as EfihBflOWI' or running r01 decreases in size the normalrunning path elements which varies the time when the web-pathis brought to pasting position relative to the spare roll iswithin the scope of the inventionasdefined by the claim hereto ,ap ended. f

n order'to properly control the unwinding of the web from the T0115 2'2 and-24 an adjustable V-shaped friction Pulley maybe applied to one end of e'a'chof the spindles 26 and 28, such mechanism being so well known in the art that it is not deemed "necessary to illustrateit. s

While it is preferred to employ the specific construction and arrangement of parts shown and. described, it will be understood that this const uction is not essential except so far as specified in the claim, and maybe changed or modified withoutdeparting from the broader, features of the invention- What is claimed as new is: a jIn a web-feeding mechanism, a running roll, a aide roller for theru'n'ning web from said r0 1, as are roll intermediate said running roll and for, the spindles "of said rolls so related to each other that therunning 'roll cannot be exhausted without the web-path therefrom engaging the periphe. of the s fare roll.

- IYENRY BALL.

of 'the web is automatically moved toward the upper or spare roll, the extent. of this movement bein-g so related to the'unwin-ding 6o l of the running roll that when the web is about *toexpire from the running roll the normal path of the web brings it against, or almost against, the spare roll. Those skilled in the art will recogniz'ethat this result gains a 65 distinct advantage in that the web is in the guide roller, and fixed supports 

